Career and Education Opportunities for Order Clerks in Tallahassee, Florida

Order clerks can find many career and educational opportunities in the Tallahassee, Florida area. About 17,610 people are currently employed as order clerks in Florida. By 2016, this is expected to shrink by 20% to about 14,070 people employed. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for order clerks are expected to shrink by about 26.1%. In general, order clerks receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities.

The income of an order clerk is about $12 per hour or $25,390 yearly on average in Florida. In the U.S. as a whole, their income is about $13 hourly or $27,990 per year on average. Order clerks earn less than people working in the category of Clerical generally in Florida and less than people in the Clerical category nationally.

The Tallahassee area is home to nine schools of higher education, including one within twenty-five miles of Tallahassee where you can get a degree as an order clerk. The most common level of education for order clerks is a high school diploma or GED. You can expect to spend only a short time studying to be an order clerk if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Order Clerk

Order Clerk video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, order clerks receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. They also duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.

Order clerks verify customer and order data for correctness, checking it against previously obtained data as needed. They also obtain customers' names and billing data, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this data on order forms. Equally important, order clerks have to inform customers by mail or telephone of order data, such as unit prices and any anticipated delays. They are often called upon to receive and respond to customer complaints. They are expected to file copies of orders received, or post orders on archives. Finally, order clerks ready invoices and contracts.

Every day, order clerks are expected to be able to see details at a very fine level of focus. They need to understand what others are saying to them even in a noisy environment. It is also important that they articulate ideas and problems.

It is important for order clerks to inspect orders for completeness in line with reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing. They are often called upon to direct specified departments or units to ready and ship orders to designated locations. They also compute total charges for products or services and shipping charges. They are sometimes expected to talk with production or common carrier personnel so as to expedite or trace shipments. Somewhat less frequently, order clerks are also expected to notify departments when supplies of specific items are low, or when orders would deplete available supplies.

Order clerks sometimes are asked to recommend type of packing or labeling needed on order. They also have to be able to inspect outgoing work for adherence to customers' specifications and ready invoices and contracts. And finally, they sometimes have to calculate and compile order-related statistics, and ready summaries for management.

Like many other jobs, order clerks must be reliable and have exceptional integrity.

Correspondence Clerk. Compose letters in reply to requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit and other information, delinquent accounts, or unsatisfactory services. Duties may include gathering data to formulate reply and typing correspondence.

Courtroom Clerk. Perform clerical duties in court of law; prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges; and contact witnesses, attorneys, and litigants to obtain information for court.

File Clerk. File correspondence, cards, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.

Municipal Clerk. Draft agendas and bylaws for town or city council; record minutes of council meetings; answer official correspondence; keep fiscal records and accounts; and prepare reports on civic needs.

Office Clerk. Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring limited knowledge of office management systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, stenography, office machine operation, and filing.

Payroll Bookkeeper. Compile and post employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions. May prepare paychecks.

Procurement Clerk. Compile information and records to draw up purchase orders for procurement of materials and services.

Receptionist. Answer inquiries and obtain information for general public, customers, and other interested parties. Provide information regarding activities conducted at establishment; location of departments, offices, and employees within organization.

Statistical Clerk. Compile and compute data according to statistical formulas for use in statistical studies. May perform actuarial computations and compile charts and graphs for use by actuaries. Includes actuarial clerks.

Weighter. Weigh, measure, and check materials, supplies, and equipment for the purpose of keeping relevant records. Duties are primarily clerical by nature.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Order Clerk Training

Southwest Georgia Technical College - Thomasville, GA

Southwest Georgia Technical College, 15689 US Hwy 19 N, Thomasville, GA 31792. Southwest Georgia Technical College is a small college located in Thomasville, Georgia. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 1,512 students. Southwest Georgia Technical College has a less than one year program in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services which graduated twelve students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

National Professional Certification in Sales:
The Certification was designed to capture the core Sales duties for a broad range of entry-level through first-line supervisory positions across the sales and service industries.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida photo by Diligent Terrier

Tallahassee is located in Leon County, Florida. It has a population of over 171,922, which has grown by 14.1% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Tallahassee, 89, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Tallahassee are priced at $166,600 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, three hundred new homes were built in Tallahassee, down from six hundred thirty-eight the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Tallahassee are educational services, public administration, and health care. For men, it is public administration, educational services, and accommodation and food services. The average commute to work is about 19 minutes. More than 45.0% of Tallahassee residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 19.8%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Tallahassee is 7.1%, which is less than Florida's average of 11.3%.

The percentage of Tallahassee residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 37.6%, is less than both the national and state average. Abundant Life Foursquare Church, Advent Episcopal Church and Aftermath Church are among the churches located in Tallahassee. The most common religious groups are the Southern Baptist Convention, the Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church.

Tallahassee is home to the Miracle Plaza and the Tallahassee Community College Library as well as Old Fort Park and Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park. Shopping malls in the area include Northwood Mall, Parkway Shopping Center and Tallahassee Mall. Visitors to Tallahassee can choose from Cactus Motel, Best Western Pride Inn Suites and Budget Inn for temporary stays in the area.